Help - Preparation of horseshoe crab specimen

[WC Banta]

Limulus can be preserved in a dry, supple, lifelike state
and be handled by hundreds of students if preserved by
glycerination.
 
Fix the animal in 70% alcohol (ethanol or isopropynol),
then put it wet in a plastic bag with an approximately equal
weight of glycerine for 6 months to a year or more, depending
on the size of the animal.  Handle it once in a while to cover
it with glycerine.  When ready, remove and wipe it off with
a paper towel.  If it becomes brittle and the legs hard to move,
after a few days, it is not done yet.  Replace in a bag for a
while.  Once finished, no special storage is needed.  A cardboard
will do.
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                "You get too soon old and too late smart."
                                         -Old Jewish saying
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WC Banta, Professor of Biology      |       Email: wcbanta at american.edu
American University Washington      |
DC 20016 - 202/885-2181 voice       |       Prodigy: DGNG27A
202/885-2182 fax                    |       Home: 301/718-4217
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